Southeast Utah Health Department Director Bradon Bradford had some good news in his report to the Grand County commissioners at their regular meeting on Jan. 19.
“We really have seen the number of [COVID-19] cases decrease pretty significantly in all three of our counties,” Bradford said. SEUHD serves Grand, Carbon, and Emery counties.
At the time of the presentation, SEUHD had received a total of 1,080 vaccine doses so far, and had administered 1120—Bradford explained that sometimes technicians are able to get an “extra” dose out of a 10-dose vial.
“Moving forward we hope to get an additional 10% ‘extra’ as we learn a little bit about drawing those shots and giving them,” he said. On the day of the meeting, Bradford said the SEUHD had received an additional 500 doses of vaccine.
Utah Governor Spencer Cox has mandated that health officials must administer all vaccine doses allocated within seven days.
“That’s really not a problem for us right now,” Bradford said. “The demand is so high that those are really snapped up as soon as they’re made available.”
Bradford emphasized that no one within SEUHD’s district has experienced a severe adverse reaction to the vaccine.
Bradford said that nationwide data suggests that the vaccine is more than 95% effective in preventing COVID-19, and nearly 100% effective in preventing severe cases of the disease.
He also noted that it’s not yet clear whether a vaccinated individual may still carry and spread the virus, and urged everyone to continue wearing masks and maintaining social distance.
Vaccines are now available to members of the public age 70 and older. Appointments can be made on the SEUHD website at www.seuhealth.com or by calling the SEUHD at 435-259-5602.
Those who show any symptoms of COVID-19 are encouraged to get tested at Moab Regional Hospital. To talk to a nurse about symptoms and schedule a test, call the Moab Regional Hospital COVID-19 hotline at 435-719-3998.
Health department urges continued mask-wearing, distancing
